Window mount curtains for room air conditioner

ABSTRACT

AN ACCORDION-TYPE CURTAIN FOR A WINDOW MOUNT AIR CONDITIONER TO CLOSE THE SPACE BETWEEN THE AIR CONDITIONER AND A WINDOW FRAME WHEREIN THE CURTAIN COMPRISES TWO SHEETS MADE OF VINYLCHLORIDE POLYMERS AND HAVING HINGE LINES FORMED BY DIELECTRIC HEATING AND WHEREIN AT LEAST ONE OF THE SHEETS IS A RIGID VINYL. IN ONE EMBODIMENT, THE OTHER SHEET IS ALSO A RIGID VINYL AND IN ANOTHER EMBODIMENT THE OTHER SHEET IS A SOFT VINYL. THE SHEETS ARE ALSO LAMINATED TOGETHER IN A FURTHER EMBODIMENT AND IN A STILL FURTHER EMBODIMENT THE SHEETS ARE FASTENED TOGETHER ONLY AT THE HINGE LINES.

United States Patent Inventor Appl. No.

Filed Patented Assignee WINDOW MOUNT CURTAIN CONDITIONER l 1 Claims, 14 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl

Int. Cl Field of Search References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2/1957 Hord S FOR ROOM AIR l 13,ss7,441

Primary ExaminerMeyer Perlin Attorney-Barnes, Kisselle, Raisch & Choate ABSTRACT: An accordion-type curtain for a window mount air conditioner to close the space between the air conditioner and a window frame wherein the curtain comprises two sheets made of vinylchloride polymers and having hinge lines formed by dielectric heating and wherein at least one of the sheets is a rigid vinyl. In one embodiment, the other sheet is also a rigid vinyl and in another embodiment the other sheet is a soft vinyl. The sheets are also laminated together in a further embodiment and in a still further embodiment the sheets are fastened together only at the hinge lines.

PATENTEDJuH28|9n 3.587.441

SHEEI 1 BF 2 INVENTOR NORMAN W. WOODS ATTORNEYS WINDOW MOUNT CURTAINS FOR ROOM AIR CONDITIONER The present invention is an improvement over the window mount curtain for an air conditioner shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,306,181, granted Feb. 28, I967, to Norman W. Woods, and assigned to the assignee ofthe present application. This patent discloses a curtain that is a vinyl-steel-vinyl sandwich. Strength and rigidity is imparted to the curtain by vertical steel slats and the vinyl sheets are laminated together as by heat bonding with the slats sandwiched therebetween. The sheeting between the vertical slats serves as a hinge. This construction provides a good window mount curtain. However, there is a demand for a window mount curtain that can be manufactured at lower cost, provide a neater appearance and fold into a more compact condition without sacrificing the advantages of the curtain disclosed in the aforementioned Woods patent.

The objects of the present invention are to provide a window mount curtain for an air conditioner that is sufficiently rigid to provide an effective closure between the aii conditioner and a window frame; that is particularly suited for manufacture by an automated process at low cost using a minimum of material for maximum rigidity; that provides a neat and attractive appearance, both interiorly and exteriorly, with evenly spaced, clearly defined hinge lines; that can be folded in an accordion fashion into a very compact arrangement by comparison to prior art window mount curtains; and/or that expands readily to fill the space between the air conditioner and the window frame.

A further object of the present invention is to provide such a window mount curtain of the aforementioned type having one or more of the foregoing advantages and wherein a double wall construction with separation between the two sheets is provided at the area between the hinge lines to improve thermal and sound insulation qualities.

Other features, objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the description, the appended claims and the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. I is a view of a window with the lower sash partly raised and an air conditioner mounted in the window opening by a window mount having side closures including an accordion-type curtain of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a vertical section taken on line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary top view of the air conditioner illustrating a telescopic connection between one side closure and a channel on the air conditioner housing;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary horizontal section through the curtain of FIG. I;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary top view of the curtain in its folded condition;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the curtain in a flat condition as it appears during the fabrication process;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary view of one longitudinal edge of the unfolded curtain of FIG. 6 according to a first embodiment of the present invention comprising two sheets of rigid vinyl;

FIG. 8 illustrates a dielectric heating apparatus for forming the curtain of FIG. 7;

FIGS. 90-90 illustrate a dielectric heating operation with the apparatus of FIG. 8 to form hinge lines in the curtain;

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary view of one longitudinal edge of an unfolded curtain according to another embodiment of the present invention comprising one sheet of hard rigid vinyl and one sheet ofsoft vinyl;

FIG. 11 illustrates still a further embodiment of the curtain for a double walled construction in the area between adjacent hinge lines; and

FIG. I2 is a fragmentary top view of the curtain of FIG. 11 in a partially folded condition.

For purposes of illustration and not by way of limitation, FIG. I shows a conventional double hung sash window 12 partially open with an air conditioner 14 extending through the open window and retained in the window 12 by a window mount 16. Mount 16 has a pair of side closures 18 that telescope laterally of air conditioner 14 to close the space between the air conditioner and the window. Each of the side closures 18 generally comprises a three-sided frame slide 20 and an accordion-type curtain 22. The details of the slide 20 and the mounting thereof on air conditioner 14 are not essential to the present invention. Slide 20 is generally similar to the slide disclosed and described in the aforementioned Woods U.S. Pat. No. 3,306,181 and hence will be described only to an extent necessary to an understanding of the present invention.

Slides 20 are telescopically mounted in top and bottom channels 24 (only the top channel being illustrated) mounted on the housing of air conditioner l4. Curtain 22 is fastened at its inner end to the side of air conditioner 14 by suitable means and at its outer end to the outer vertical side of slide 20 as by clips 26 (FIG. 2). When closures 18 are moved laterally outwardly against the side runs of window 12, curtain 22 unfolds to close the space between air conditioner 14 and window 12.

Referring more particularly to FIGS. 4-7, according to a first embodiment of the present invention curtain 22 comprises two sheets 30, 32 of plastic material that have been first laminated to each other and then formed with vertically extending, horizontally spaced hinge lines 34 whereby the curtain 22 can be folded into the pleated condition generally illustrated in FIG. 4. In the embodiment being described, sheets 30, 32 are hard polyvinylchloride" which, according to accepted classification in the plastics industry, has a hardness on the order of 35 to 60 D scale on a Shore Durometer hardness testing system. Each of the sheets 30, 32 is approximately 0.009 inches thick. As shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 7, each of the sheets 30, 32 is thinned along each hinge line 34 when the hinge lines are formed by a dielectric heating operation to be described. The two sheets 30, 32 of hard polyvinylchloride material are sufficiently rigid to provide an effective window mount curtain. On the other hand, by thinning the two sheets 30, 32 during the hinge forming operation, curtain 22 is sufficiently flexible at the hinge lines 34 so that it can be folded and unfolded as desired. By way of example, in one embodiment using hard polyvinylchloride sheets wherein each of the sheets was 0.009 inches thick, both sheets thinned approximately equally during the dielectric hinge forming operation. The minimum thickness 38, at the center of the hinge line 34 was approximately 0.010 inches. This particular curtain (FIG. 6) was approximately 20 inches long when flat, 13 inches high and the spacing between hinge lines 34 was approximately 1 inch.

Referring more particularly to FIGS. 8 and 9, there is illustrated a dielectric heating apparatus 40 generally comprising a top electrode 42 and a flat lower electrode 44 which are connected across a high frequency generator 46. The details of the dielectric heating apparatus will be described only to an extent necessary to an understanding of the present invention. The upper electrode 42 is formed with a plurality of downwardly projecting ribs 48 that are equally spaced apart, horizontally as viewed in FIG. 8, a. distance equal to the desired distance between the hinge lines 34. Ribs 48 have a length (in a direction into the paper as viewed in FIG. 8) at least exceeding the desired height of curtain 22 and the length of hinge lines 34. Although generator 46 is described as a high frequency generator, an ultrahigh frequency generator may be used as known in the art. The frequency and power input to electrodes 42, 44 is selected in a manner known in the art of dielectric heat sealing. The dielectric heating apparatus 40 is provided with suitable means (not shown) for moving the electrodes toward each other to strike the curtain and apply pressure during a hinge forming operation.

In manufacturing the curtain 22, the two sheets 30, 32 are first laminated together. If desired, one or both of the sheets may be textured or embossed, either prior to or simultaneously with the lamination operation. The laminated sheets 30, 32 are placed flat on electrode 44 and then the sheets are struck by electrode 42. The simultaneous application of high frequency energy and pressure to sheets 30, 32 heats the sheets along a narrow hinge line at the interface between the sheets to further seal the sheets together and simultaneously distorts and slightly weakens both sheets in the manner illustrated in FIGS. 9b and 9c. As shown in FIG. .9b, when rib 48 engages the top sheet 30, the top sheet 30 is upset slightly at 50 along both sides of rib 48 to reduce the thickness of sheet 30. Further pressure and heating inches two sheets to curl upwardly along both sides of the hinge line being formed so that the bottom sheet 32 is flattened and thinned along the hinge line at 49 as shown in FIG. 90. A finished hinge line 34 formed by the dielectric heating will have the configuration shown in FIG. 7. It should be noted that the ribs 48 have a relatively thin tip so that thinning of the two sheets occurs along a narrow, clearly defined hinge line, for example, a hinge line having a width on the order of 0.03 inches for the example previously described. However, the two sheets 30, 32 will be heated at their interface during the hinge forming operation over a wider area than the hinge line, per se. This heating assures that the sheets will be tightly sealed to each other along the hinge lines. After the hinging operation is completed, curtain 22 is manually folded into the pleated configuration illustrated in FIG. 4 and installed in the slide 20.

A curtain formed by the above process can be manufactured economically and will have several desirable attributes. Its memory is such that it may tend to expand slightly from its compressed condition but it will not spring back to its compressed condition after having been expanded. Hence the slides 20 will remain in engagement with the side runs of the window 12 while the air conditioner is being mounted in the window opening. There is little, if any, tendency for the curtain to revert to a folded condition. Once the slides 20 are moved outwardly against the side runs of the window, the installer's hands are free to pull the window down and perform other operations during installation of the air conditioner. With certain prior art accordion-type curtains that are extruded in a partially folded condition, the curtain has a memory tending to pull the slide laterally inwardly toward the air conditioner. Hence with this prior art slide, the slide must be held in its expanded position during installation of the air conditioner. The curtain 22 manufactured by the process described hereinabove can be compressed into a very compact arrangement tightly against the sidewall of the air conditioner to facilitate shipping and handling. By way of example, the 13x20 inch curtain 22 previously described compressed under normal manual pressure to a thickness of five-eighths inches.

Another advantage in forming the curtain of two separate sheets is that different colored sheets may be used to provide different colors at the interior and exterior of the room. Either the interior or the exterior sheet may be embossed either prior to or during the lamination process. The finished curtain 22 is sufficiently rigid to provide an effective closure with the hinge lines having been weakened to allow for easy folding of the curtain and easy opening and easy closing of the slides 20. Preferably, additives are included in the material of the curtain 22 to resist ultraviolet degradation. Because dielectric heating heats the sheets 30, 32 from the inside out, that is, at the interface between the sheets, there is very little distortion at the exposed outer surfaces of the sheets. Hence the hinge lines 34 have a neat appearance.

Although the dielectric process has been described hereinabove in connection with forming a single curtain, it will be apparent that the dielectric process can be used to pleat sheet material substantially larger than the size of one curtain. The larger sheets are then cut into individual curtains after the pleating operation. Although the pleating operation has been described in connection with a flat bottom electrode 44, electrodes having-a grooved or serrated face are also contemplated. The electrode configuration can be such as to partially fold the curtain during the dielectric heating operation and thus reduce the time to manually fold the curtain. Electrodes in the form of rollers are also contemplated for a continuous hinge forming operation.

Referring to FIG. 10, there is illustrated a further embodiment of a window mount curtain constructed according to the present invention and usable with the slides 20 described in connection with curtain 22. The curtain 60 (FIG. 10) comprises two sheets 62, 64 of plastic material laminated together and pleated by the dielectric operation in a manner similar to that described hereinabove in connection with FIGS. 7-9. Sheet 62 is hard polyvinylchloride having a hardness on the order of 35 to 60 D scale on a Shore Durometer hardness testing system and may have a thickness on the order of 0.009 inches. However, sheet 64 is soft polyvinylchloride" which, according to accepted practice in the plastics industry, has a hardness on the order of IS to 35 D scale on a Shore Durometer hardness testing system.

A significant advantage is obtained by using vinyl sheets having different hardnesses, that is, one sheet being a hard vinyl and the other sheet being a soft vinyl. When curtain 60 is pleated by substantially the same dielectric heating and striking process previously described, the rigid vinyl sheet 62 is thinned substantially at the hinge line 66 whereas little, if any, thinning occurs in the soft vinyl sheet 64 along the hinge line 66. For example, the hard vinyl sheet 62 may be thinned in half, to a thickness of 0.0045 inches. With a 0.009 inch soft vinyl sheet 64, the thickness is reduced only to 0.008 inches during the dielectric pleating operation. This construction improves flexibility along the hinge line 66 while retaining the strength and rigidity imparted by the hard vinyl sheet 62. With the curtain 60, even if the rigid vinyl sheet 62 is thinned during the dielectric heating operation to a point where it cracks when flexed, the soft vinyl sheet will not crack as easily and hence will provide the hinge function independent of the rigid vinyl sheet. Preferably the hard vinyl sheet 62 is arranged in the side closure 18 so that the sheet 62 is exposed to the weather. As with the curtain 22 previously described, either one or both of the sheets 62,64 can be textured, embossed, or have different colors as desired. Since the soft vinyl sheet 64 is not thinned substantially during the dielectric pleating and striking operation, a thicker hard vinyl sheet and a thinner soft vinyl sheet may be used to obtain a more rigid curtain without impairing the hinge. For example, the rigid sheet may have a thickness on the order of 0.014 inches to 0.016 inches prior to dielectric forming and the corresponding soft vinyl sheet may have the thickness on the order of 0.006 inches to 0.004 inches.

Referring to FIG. 11, there is illustrated a still further embodiment of the present invention in the form of a window mount curtain 70 comprising two sheets 72, 74 of plastic material hinged at lines 76 by a dielectric heating and striking operation. In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 11 and 12, however, the sheets 72, 74 are not secured to each other prior to the dielectric heating operation. The two sheets 72, 74 are placed on electrode 44, one sheet on top of the other, and the dielectric heating at the interface between the sheets seals the sheets together along the hinge lines 72.

It has been found that when the two sheets 72, 74 are pleated by the dielectric heating operation, without the sheets having first been secured to each other, there is a tendency for one or both of the sheets to puff slightly immediately adjacent the hinge line 76, as illustrated at 77. This causes a slight separation between the sheets 72, 74 over the area between the hinge lines 76. Thus curtain 70 is, in effect, a double wall curtain having an air space between the walls to enhance thermal and sound insulating properties. The separation of the sheets 72, 74 is shown in FIG. 11 for purposes ofillustration as being uniform and symmetrical about the hinge lines 76. However, in an actual curtain constructed in the manner described, the separation between sheets 72, 74 will be nonuniform as contrasted to the uniform separation illustrated in FIG. 11. The manufacturing process used to form the double walled curtain 70 shown in FIGS. 11 and I2 is applicable to curtains made from two hard vinyl sheets of the type described in connection with FIG. 7 and also to curtains of the type having one hard vinyl sheet and one soft vinyl sheet of the type described in connection with FIG. 10. By way of further example, when a curtain having the double walled configuration of curtain 70 was of two sheets of hard vinyl, each sheet being 0.009 inches thick, both sheets were thinned such that the total thickness through the hinge line 76 was 0.010 inches. The width 78 (FIG. 11) of the sealed hinge line was 00% inches.

It is to be understood that the particular embodiments of the window mount curtains and methods for manufacturing the same have been described herein for purposes of illustration and are not intended to indicate limits of the present invention, the scope of which is defined by the following claims.

Iclaim:

l. The combination for use with a window having a frame with an opening therethrough comprising an air conditioner housing adapted to extend through said opening with one wall of said housing spaced inwardly of said frame and a curtain slide assembly adapted to close the space between said wall and said window frame, said curtain slide assembly including a self-supporting, accordion-type curtain comprised of at least two substantially coextensive sheets of plastic material at least one of which is a hard plastic material having a hardness on the order of 35 to 60 D scale ofa Shore Durometer hardness testing system, said sheets being joined together along a plurality of parallel hinge lines by a dielectric heating and striking operation such that said one sheet is thinned along said hinge lines to permit flexing of said curtain at said hinge lines, and wherein said sheets provide the sole means imparting strength and rigidity to said curtain so that said curtain is self supporting and free of stiffening stays.

2. The combination set forth in claim 1 wherein the other of said sheets is a hard plastic material having a hardness on the order of 35 to 60 D scale on a Shore Durometer hardness testing system.

3. The combination set forth in claim 2 wherein said sheets are laminated to each other so as to form a substantially unitary single sheet of material.

4. The combination set forth in claim 2 wherein said hinge lines are parallel to each other and evenly spaced from each other in a direction between said wall and said window frame and wherein said sheets are fastened to each other substantially only at said hinge line to provide a separation between said sheets over substantially the entire area between adjacent hinge lines.

5. The combination set forth in claim 1 wherein the other of said sheets is a soft plastic material having a hardness on the order of 15 to 35 D scale on a Shore Durometer hardness testing system, said other sheet has a thickness along said hinge lines substantially equal to its thickness measured in the area between said hinge lines.

6 The combination set forth in claim 5 wherein said other sheet has a thickness on the order of 0.004 inches to 0.006 inches.

7. The combination set forth in claim 1 wherein said sheets are polyvinylchloride.

8. The combination set forth in claim 1 wherein said sheets have different hardnesses.

9. The combination set forth in claim 1 wherein said one sheet has a thickness measured in the area between said hinge lines on the order of from 0.009 inch to 0.016 inch.

10. The combination for use with a window having a frame with an opening therethrough comprising an air conditioner housing adapted to extend through said opening with one wall of said housing spaced inwardly of said frame and a curtain slide assembly adapted to close the space between said wall and said window frame, said curtain slide assembly including an accordion-type, self-supporting curtain comprised of at least two substantially coextensive sheets of plastic material, said sheets being joined together along a plurality of parallel hinge lines by a dielectric heating and striking operation such that at least one sheet has a first controlled thickness at said hinge lines that is substantially less than a second thickness of said one sheet so that the thinning of said one sheet alongsaid hinge line permits flexing of sai curtain at said hinge mes,

and wherein at least a first sheet is sufficiently rigid so that said sheets are the sole means providing self support of said curtain without reinforcing stays.

11. The combination set forth in claim 10 wherein said two sheets have different hardnesses. 

